


Restive - 3 Times

by cutsycat



Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1355]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 20:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20413768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutsycat/pseuds/cutsycat
Summary: Tony has always been a magnet for trouble, but this time he takes it to the extreme ending up in a coma, not once, not twice, but three times. Whatever is Gibbs to do?





	Restive - 3 Times

**Author's Note:**

> Another dictionary.com word of the day drabble. This time from 01/15/2003 for the word [restive](http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2003/01/15/restive).
> 
> restive[ res-tiv ]  
adjective  
impatient of control, restraint, or delay, as persons; restless; uneasy.  
refractory; stubborn.  
refusing to go forward; balky:  
a restive horse.
> 
> This is for prompt #3 of the March 2019 Five Prompts Challenge located [here](https://ncis-discuss.livejournal.com/190879.html). I went a little crazy and included all 5 instead of only picking one. *shifty eyed* This is probably not one of my better works, but I tried (this is also why I don't usually do the 5 times and 1 time they didn't type things)

The first time they had to share a bed, Tony didn’t think anything of it. It was for a case and they got the last room in the hotel. There was no reason to be suspicious that it only had a queen bed. The hotel staff had been appropriately apologetic, but there hadn’t been anything anyone could do. 

After they entered the room, Tony turned to Gibbs, “So the accommodations leave a lot to be desired.”

Gibbs just glared at Tony, silently pointing out how stupid that statement was. It was already a foregone conclusion that they would have to share a bed. Tony didn’t bother saying anything else and the next morning when they woke up a little bit cuddled together, he kept quiet as well. He was pretty sure based on the previous night that he’d be better off keeping quiet than saying something stupid. After all, both of them were too professional to mention the shared bed outside of this room.

The next time it happened was a lot more suspicious, however, as Tony had made reservations for a room with two beds plenty of time in advance, so there should have been no reason for them to share a bed. Somehow, the hotel couldn’t find the reservation even though Tony had all the appropriate paperwork as proof and they ended up sharing a bed, yet again since there weren’t any rooms with two beds left. 

Still, it wasn’t until the third time it happened that Tony knew something was up. After all, Gibbs had a rule about coincidences and three times was one time too many for any chance of it being a coincidence. After that, Tony watched everything more carefully. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Gibbs, but he wanted to know how Gibbs was managing to force them to share a bed so often and if possible catch him red handed. Tony wanted to know why Gibbs was doing this, but he needed more information before he could confront Gibbs about it. Of course, Gibbs knew that Tony was suspicious of him and backed off a bit, so getting the information wasn’t easy, but Tony knew how to be patient when he needed to be. 

For Gibbs part, he hadn’t intended to force them to share a bed and the first time had been completely unplanned. When Tony hadn’t protested or made a fuss about them sharing a bed or waking up cuddled together, Gibbs wondered if Tony was more interested in him than he’d thought. He’d thought that if he forced them to share a bed more often that Tony might get more bold, so he’d arranged for them to share a bed a second time.

When Tony behaved exactly the same way he had the first time, Gibbs had frowned and decided he was getting his hopes up for nothing. The third time they’d shared a bed had actually been due to the first time Tony woke up from a coma. It had been their first away case after Tony was recovered and back in the field and Gibbs had arranged for them to share the bed so that he could keep an eye on Tony.

“Don’t fall into a coma again.” 

Tony glanced up at Gibbs as he was sliding into the bed and gave him a weird look. He hadn’t wanted to end up in a coma the first time and that was a very stupid thing to say as they were getting ready to share a bed for a first time.

It had been Gibbs fault that Tony had ended up in a coma and his protective instincts were in overdrive. If he hadn’t insisted on going off on his own with Maggie, Tony wouldn’t have had to rescue them and he wouldn’t have caught the pneumonia that with his lungs already damaged from the plague had forced him into unconsciousness. Gibbs supposed it was fortunate that Tony had waited until after saving Maggie and Gibbs to fall ill, but it had left Gibbs feeling unexpectedly accountable of Tony and thus the shared bed. 

Of course, Gibbs could tell that Tony was suspicious of what was happening, so he backed off a bit and tried to make his possessive feelings appear more normal. It wasn’t easy given Tony managed to land himself in the hospital again. Not only was he in the hospital, but he was in a coma as well. 

Gibbs was beginning to think that Tony was a magnet for danger. Last time it had been pneumonia and his lungs, this time a hit to the head. He wasn’t sure how a fry pan to the head had resulted in a coma, but it had. Fortunately, the coma hadn’t lasted long and Tony was quickly back to causing trouble. 

Unfortunately, that meant that Gibbs felt even more protective of Tony and Tony was even more sensitive to any hint of Gibbs being overbearing. In fact, Gibbs had to say that he had a restive Tony on his hands. The only problem with this was that Gibbs really didn’t want to see Tony in a coma for a third time.

Just because they’d gotten lucky and Tony had woken the last two times, didn’t mean that their luck would last. When Tony was released from the hospital, he was released into Gibbs’ care, who decided to take him home. The only problem with this is he forgot that he’d left his romantic comedies out from the last time he’d been watching them and they were in plain view as Tony walked through the door.

“I can go home, if I’m interrupting something.” Tony pointed out, having wanted to go home in the first place.

Gibbs gave him a don’t be stupid look. “You’re not interrupting anything. They’re mine.”

Tony blinked. “You watch rom-coms?”

Gibbs shrugged. ”I don’t advertise it.”

“As far as secrets go, it’s pretty tame. I watch plenty of rom coms myself. They may be chic flicks, but they’re also feel good movies and sometimes that’s what will make me feel better. We can watch some if you want.”

“Sure.” At least, Tony couldn’t get into trouble watching movies. 

Of course, Gibbs couldn’t remain that lucky. Tony wasn’t going to be happy watching movies all day, every day. He had to be let back into the field eventually. 

The only saving grace in Gibbs’ mind was that Tony hadn’t moved out of his house. Of course, that also meant that Tony found out more of his secrets. The time Tony found the photos he kept of him had been rather awkward, but it had also led to Tony admitting that he liked Gibbs too, so Gibbs couldn’t regret it in the slightest.

The first time, Tony brought home a drowned kitten and said that they had to help it, Gibbs didn’t think anything of it. These things happened and when it was better, they’d let it go. 

Or so Gibbs thought. By the time it was well enough to go they were both attached and neither wanted to let it go. It wouldn’t have been a big deal, even with their schedules they could handle a kitten, except that it seemed to be the start of DiNozzo rescuing and adopting various creatures.

The second creature Tony decided to adopt was a wild bobcat. He’d apparently found it trapped and since he couldn’t stand seeing any creature in pain he brought it to their home. Of course, once the bobcat was healed that didn’t work out well for Tony, who ended up in the hospital in a coma again.

Gibbs was extremely happy that Tony was alive. The cat had done a number on Tony’s chest and upper body. Tony had been trying to confirm that the bobcat was all healed and instead had almost ended up his lunch.

It would have been even worse if Gibbs hadn’t come home when he did. A few of the puncture marks were too close to Tony’s lungs for Gibbs’ comfort. Gibbs really worried if Tony would wake up from this one.

It hurt even more given that they were actually in a relationship now. Gibbs couldn’t help feeling like he should have stopped Tony from adopting the hurt bobcat. Knowing that people in comas could still hear you, Gibbs decided to reveal another of his secrets, which somehow Tony hadn’t found out yet.

He started reading some of his poetry to Tony while he lay in the hospital and hoped for Tony to wake. He’d been writing poetry all his life. He’d even published some under a pseudonym and he knew he had some fans, though it had never caught on like some others. 

He had no idea if Tony would remember and ask about it if he ever woke up, but Gibbs really hoped that he would. He wanted to share this secret with Tony even more than some of the others. Gibbs just hoped that Tony wouldn’t ask about the bobcat when he woke up.

He was pretty sure that the bobcat had been put down, though, it was possible it had been released into the wilds. Gibbs honestly wasn’t sure. It had been taken away when the police had responded to his call and he hadn’t seen or enquired about it afterwards. 

He simply couldn’t bring himself to ask after the creature that had injured Tony so badly. He’d helped care for the bobcat too, but he wasn’t anywhere as attached to it as he had been to the kitten they’d rescued. Right now, the kitten was with Abby as Gibbs spent almost all his waking hours with Tony. 

He breathed a sigh of relief when Tony finally woke up after a week of being in a coma. That was a good sign. It would still be a long recovery, but at least he knew Tony was going to make it now.

“Did you really read me poetry?”

“I did.”

“Who wrote it, I didn’t recognize the poet?”

“I did.”

“Really?”

Gibbs nodded. 

Tony watched him for a bit before he fell back asleep. Gibbs patted Tony’s hand and wondered how this would change their lives. He hoped that it would make Tony think twice about adopting another animal, but he didn’t hold out hope for that given Tony’s irrepressible nature regardless of how much shit he was put through.

By the time Tony was released from the hospital, he was more than ready to be home. He was kind of sad about what happened to the bobcat, but mostly he was dreading the amount of physical therapy ahead of him. Also, he’d had enough of comas for a while. 

Three comas in the few years he’d known Gibbs was beyond excessive. He was actually wondering if he should continue working at NCIS. Though this latest injury wasn’t something that happened at work, work was generally more dangerous than being at home. 

He was quieter than Gibbs was used to and Gibbs was getting worried. He’d retrieved the kitten from Abby in hopes that it would cheer Tony up, but while Tony would pet the kitty it didn’t really take Tony out of his mind. With that in mind, Gibbs decided to take matters into his own hand. 

He now stood in the middle of the pound looking at a sea of animals available for adoption. He needed to find one that would cheer Tony up and distract him even when Tony couldn’t do much. He’d seen so many dogs and cats and various other animals that he was about ready to give up when he heard an excited bark. 

He turned and knew that he’d found the perfect dog for Tony. This collie had a smooth black coat and was clearly sensitive to feelings and knew how to cheer people up. Gibbs knew he’d made the right decision and immediately set about getting the collie. He just hoped that this would be the last coma that Tony had to recover from. Otherwise, their relationship was looking up as far as he was concerned and he hoped Tony thought so too.

**Author's Note:**

> The dictionary.com series has 2 stories already written for it after this one, so I will be posting at least 2 more stories before I stop posting again. I'm hoping to get more stories written before then, so that I don't stop posting for a while. Wish me luck! 
> 
> It's 2019 now and I have closed my 2018 Prompt collection, but fear not my 2019 Prompt Collection is now open [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2019/profile). Just click the sign up link. ;) It will remain open until the beginning of 2020. I'm hoping to complete all the 2019 prompts by the end of 2020. Do not fear I have not forgotten about the 2018 prompts and will continue working through them. It's just easier for me to not get overwhelmed if I keep the prompts separated by the year they were given to me.
> 
> If you are not an ao3 member, you can prompt me [here](http://cutsycat.livejournal.com/50701.html). Please follow the same rules as are listed in the above link. However, because this is a handmade prompt form(that thinks it's a poll), it is considerably more limited than what ao3 provides, so please use the ao3 form if you're an ao3 member. Please note the name option is for a name that I can say this is for so that you know it's for you. Since this is for non ao3 members it won't be true gifts, but you will be mentioned in the notes. Please note if you have already voted in the poll and would like to request more stories you can just add a comment to the poll. Please include the name along with the prompt, so that I can appropriately gift the prompt to you.
> 
> For any authors that want to chat and/or are looking for a place where they can toss plot ideas around and get input from people, you can come join my discord server that is specifically geared towards writing/encouraging people to write and authors. The invite link is [here](https://discord.gg/HFvwpCq). If you're not an author, but want to chat with me about writing/stories or anything else you are welcome to join. I reserve the right to boot you from my server if all you do is pester me about updates, however. *grin* Really anyone who wants to talk about writing and/or plot ideas for various stories is welcome to join. 
> 
> Also, Drakonyashka has translated a couple of my works into Russian. [Tutelage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378780) and [Imbue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378840). Go support them. 


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